The invention concerns a motor vehicle door lock with mechanical or electric control of opening and/or locking/unlocking.
In some known motor vehicle door locks, when the lock is in its locked state and an outside door handle is lifted before the unlocking information has been passed to the lock, the outside opening lever connected to the handle can block the unlocking mechanism, preventing opening of the lock. For example, in the case of such a lock with electric locking/unlocking, in a situation in which a passenger of the vehicle xe2x80x9cpanicsxe2x80x9d and tries to open a door by lifting the outside handle before the driver has been able to send a unlocking signal by means of his remote control, the electric lock motors unlock the locks in the other doors whose handles have not been touched, whereas the door whose handle is held in lifted position remains locked.
The prime purpose of the invention is to propose a motor vehicle door lock that provides an unlocking function of the lock even when a part of the lock blocks the lock""s kinematic opening chain.
For this purpose, a first object of the invention is a motor vehicle door lock including an outside opening lever able to open the lock under the action of outside opening means such as a handle or outside door finger-plate, a locking lever able to move a disengageable interconnecting link between an engaged position in which the outside opening lever can cooperate, during its opening travel, with said interconnecting link to open the lock, and a disengaged position in which the opening travel of the outside opening lever does not interfere with said interconnecting link, which prevents opening of the lock, characterized in that it includes at least one blocking part able to block the movement of said interconnecting link when this link is in its disengaged position, and anti-panic means positioned between said locking lever and said interconnecting link to enable, on the one hand, movement of said interconnecting link by said locking lever, when said blocking part is at rest, and on the other hand, movement of said locking lever to its unlocked position when said blocking part is in its position blocking said interconnecting link, the unlocking energy resulting from the movement of the unlocking lever being stored by said anti-panic means to automatically trigger the movement of said interconnecting link to its engaged position as soon as said blocking part returns to its rest position.
In a particular embodiment, said anti-panic means include two distinct locking actuators whose respective movements are connected by elastic interconnection means, the first locking actuator cooperating with the locking lever and the second locking actuator cooperating with said interconnecting link, so that, on the one hand, the movement of the locking lever, when said part is at rest, causes movement of the interconnecting link via the two locking actuators, and on the other hand, the movement of the locking lever to its unlocked position, when said blocking part blocks the interconnecting link and the second locking actuator, causes both movement of the first locking actuator and elastic deformation of said elastic interconnection means which store the unlocking energy, the return of said blocking part to its rest position releasing the interconnecting link which then moves to its engaged position under the action of the second locking actuator moving under the elastic action of the elastic interconnection means.
The two locking actuators are preferably mounted pivoting on the same axis and are rotationally linked together by a torsion spring constituting said elastic interconnection means.
Advantageously, the outside opening lever constitutes a blocking part that can block the interconnecting link, said outside opening lever being able at the end of its opening travel to block said interconnecting link in its disengaged position.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the lock includes a superlocking lever cooperating with said anti-panic means, so as to block, in the superlocked position, the movement of the interconnecting link in its disengaged position, and to allow the movement of the locking lever to its unlocked position, said anti-panic means storing the unlocking energy resulting from the movement of the locking lever to automatically trigger the movement of said interconnecting link to its engaged position, when the superlocking lever returns to its rest position, said superlocking lever constituting a part that can block the interconnecting link.
In this case, one can arrange that the superlocking lever, in its superlocked position, is able to block the movement of said second locking actuator, so that the movement of the locking lever to its unlocked position causes both movement of said first locking actuator and elastic deformation of the elastic interconnection means, the return of the superlocking lever to its rest position releasing the second locking actuator which, under the elastic action of the elastic interconnection means, can move the interconnecting link to its engaged position.
Advantageously, the superlocking lever is able to block, in its superlocked position, the rotation of the second locking actuator to its unlocked position, whereas said second locking actuator is able to block, in its unlocked position, the movement of the superlocking lever to its superlocked position.
In a particular embodiment, the lock includes an electric superlocking control motor cooperating, via a gear train, with a toothed sector on the superlocking lever.
Advantageously, the locking lever cooperates with an inside locking lever, connected for example to a fascia pullrod, and with an electric locking/unlocking control motor via a gear train. For a front door lock, the locking lever also cooperates with an outside locking lever, connected for example to a lock barrel, the outside locking lever cooperating with the superlocking lever to move it to its rest position when the outside locking lever is moved to its unlocked position.
According to another characteristic, the interconnecting link cooperates with an inside opening lever such that, in the engaged position of said interconnecting link, the inside opening lever is able to cause the opening of the lock via the interconnecting link, and in the disengaged position of the interconnecting link, the opening travel of the inside opening lever does not interfere with said interconnecting link.
For the fabrication of motor vehicle door locks, it is common to make several separate modules or compartments that are then assembled to form the complete lock. These compartments or modules generally hold restraining parts, kinematic parts, and if need be electrical lock controls.
The second purpose of the invention is to propose a motor vehicle door lock which includes a new arrangement of the compartments or modules of the lock, to facilitate its final assembly and reduce the fabrication costs.
For this purpose, the second object of the invention is a motor vehicle door lock characterized in that it includes a first module which includes a retention compartment containing the restraining parts of the lock, notably a striker-retaining latch-bolt and a pawl that holds said latch-bolt in at least one position restraining the striker, and in which part of the kinematic opening/locking chain of the lock is mounted on a mounting face of said first module, on the opposite side from said retention compartment; and that it also includes a second module on which is mounted the other part of the kinematic opening/locking chain of the lock, said second module fitting on said first module on the same side as said mounting face; and that it also includes a casing that covers said second module and the mounting face of said first module, said first and second modules and said casing being assembled by connecting means.
The connecting means are advantageously constituted by at least two pins or shouldered screws that traverse successively a metal backplate of the first module, the body of the second module and the casing. In this case, one of the pins or shouldered screws can serve as an axis of articulation for an inside locking lever fitted on the second module and connected for example to a fascia pullrod.
One of the pins or shouldered screws could also serve as an axis of articulation for an inside opening lever on the second module.
In a particular embodiment, the first module includes a plastic case and a metal backplate which together define the retention compartment, the mounting face of the first module being defined by the bottom face of said case, on the opposite side from the retention compartment.
The second module preferably carries an inside opening lever that is connected to inside opening control means, for example a handle or an inside door finger-plate, a central locking lever, an inside locking lever that cooperates with said central locking lever and that is connected for example to a fascia pullrod, and an electric locking motor cooperating via a gear train with the central locking lever.
The second module also includes, for a front door lock, an outside locking lever that cooperates with said central locking lever and that is connected to a lock barrel.
In this case, the second module can also carry a superlocking lever and an electric superlocking motor cooperating via another gear train with the superlocking lever.
The second module can also include child-locking means cooperating with the inside opening lever, and an electric child-locking motor cooperating via another gear train with said child-locking means.
In a particular embodiment, the gear train of the electric locking control motor includes a worm on which is screwed a nut carrying two drive ears and a guide finger, said nut being able to translate to move the central locking lever through contact with one of the drive ears, in the locking or unlocking direction depending on the direction of travel of the nut, said guide finger forming a cam follower that engages in a cam groove in the mounting face of the first module, to tip over said nut from one drive ear to other at the end of the locking or unlocking travel.
The mounting face of the first module advantageously carries an outside opening lever that is connected to outside control means, for example a handle or an outside door finger-plate, an opening lever able to cooperate with the pawl, a transfer lever able to cooperate with an inside opening lever fitted on the second module, a disenageable interconnecting link which, in its engaged position, is able to connect rotationally the outside opening lever, the transfer lever and the opening lever, whereas when the interconnecting link is in its disengaged position, the opening travels of the outside opening lever and the transfer lever do not interfere with said interconnecting link.
The mounting face of the first module can also carry anti-panic means including two distinct locking actuators whose respective movements are connected by elastic interconnection means, the first locking actuator being intended to cooperate with a central locking lever of the second module, and the second locking actuator being connected to the interconnecting link, so that on the one hand, the movement of the central locking lever, when the outside opening lever is at rest, causes the movement of the interconnecting link, via the two locking actuators, and on the other hand, the movement of the central locking lever towards the unlocked position, when the outside opening lever is at the end of its opening travel, causes both movement of the first locking actuator and elastic deformation of the elastic interconnection means, the movement of the second locking actuator being blocked by the outside opening lever via the interconnecting link, the return of the outside opening lever to its rest position releasing the interconnecting link which then moves to its disengaged position under the action of the second locking actuator, which moves under the elastic action of the elastic interconnection means.
The first module advantageously includes, in its retention compartment, a feeler able to cooperate with a profile of the latch-bolt to indicate at least its opened position and its closed position, said feeler being rotationally attached to a contact part mounted on said mounting face. In this case, the second module can contain at least one contactor that cooperates with said contact part which traverses an arc-shaped guide slot penetrating the body of the second module. The contact part preferably includes at least one prong presenting an inclined ramp able to depress a push-button of the contactor during rotation of the feeler under the action of the pivoting of the latch-bolt between a position restraining the striker and a position releasing the striker.
The third purpose of the invention is to propose a motor vehicle door lock with improved provision for child-locking.
For this purpose, the third object of the invention is a motor vehicle door lock with child-locking means able to prevent opening of the lock by an inside opening lever, when inside control means are activated, for example a handle or an inside door finger-plate, said child-locking means including a control knob accessible outside the lock, notably when the vehicle door is open, and a child-locking actuator that can be moved by said control knob between a child-unlocked position and a child-locked position, wherein said door lock includes disenageable connecting means cooperating with said child-locking actuator and said inside opening lever, so that, in the child-unlocked position, said connecting means engage the connection between said inside opening lever and an intermediate opening lever cooperating with a restraining pawl of a lock striker, and in the child-locked position, the opening travel of said inside opening lever does not interfere with said child-locking actuator and said intermediate opening lever.
In a particular embodiment, said disenageable connecting means include a connecting pin positioned between said inside opening lever and said intermediate opening lever, so that, on the one hand, said connecting pin rotationally links said inside opening lever and said intermediate opening lever, when the connecting pin is moved by the child-locking actuator into the child-unlocked position and, on the other hand, said connecting pin can move freely relative to said intermediate opening lever and to said child-locking actuator, under the action of said inside opening lever when said connecting pin is moved by said child-locking actuator into the child-locked position.
In this case, the inside opening lever can include an elongated opening in which the connecting pin can slide between its child-locked and child-unlocked positions, said opening extending substantially radially relative to the axis of rotation of the inside opening lever to rotationally connect this lever with the connecting pin. The intermediate opening lever can include a substantially L-shaped opening, a first branch of the L coinciding with the elongated opening of the inside opening lever to allow sliding of the connecting pin between its child-locked and child-unlocked positions, while the second branch of the L allows movement of the connecting pin from its child-locked position, during the opening travel of the inside opening lever, the first branch extending substantially radially and the second branch extending substantially in a circular arc relative to the axis of rotation of the intermediate opening lever.
Advantageously, child-locking actuator cooperates via a gear train with an electric child-lock control motor which drives said child-locking actuator between the child-locked and child-unlocked positions. The child-locking actuator can be free to translate and include a nipple which moves in translation with a rack engaged by a cog driven by said electric locking control motor child.
According to another characteristic, child-locking actuator includes an elongated groove that coincides substantially with the second branch of the L-shaped opening in the intermediate opening lever and that engages said connecting pin, said groove being arranged so as to move the connecting pin between the child-locked and child-unlocked positions, but allowing free sliding of said connecting pin during the opening travel the inside opening lever.
The rack preferably cooperates with a contactor to indicate the child-locked or child-unlocked position.
According to another characteristic, the child-locking means and the inside opening lever are mounted on a module of the lock that is separate, before assembly, from another module containing the restraining parts of the lock.
In a particular embodiment, the child-locking actuator includes a boss cooperating with a flexible lever on a body of the lock, to define the two stable positions, child-locked and child-unlocked, of said child-locking actuator, on each side of said flexible lever, by elastic action of said boss on said flexible lever.
Obviously, the three objects of the invention defined previously can be taken separately or in combination with each other while remaining within the scope of the invention.